Support for suspending a curtain

ABSTRACT

A support for suspending a curtain including the supporting member has a curved portion in front and two cloth fixing means at the rear thereof. Each of said means is adapted to hold a double thickness of curtain cloth formed by making a fold in the curtain adjacent the means. The cloth between said fixing means extends over said portion, thereby obviating visibility of said curved portion.

United States Patent 1191 Broek SUPPORT FOR SUSPENDING A CURTAIN [75] Inventor: Johannes Bernardus Broek, Aarle- Rixtel, Netherlands [73] Assignee: Plast ofold A.G., Herisau, Switzerland [22] Filed: Nov. 12, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 88,772

52 US. en. .1. ..l60/348 511 1111.01. ..A47h 13/14 [58] Field 'of Search ..l60/382, 348, 330;

24/81 1), 81 GS, 81 T, 81 DM [56] i References Cited H UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 1,868,944

7/1932 Jones .....160/348 11] fifig fi 14 1 May 29, 197:1

2,337,408 12/1943 Pickering 160/348 2,544,516 3/1951 Walters 160/348 2,557,578 6/1951 Stallone 160/348 2,822,869 2/1958 Shayman 160/348 3,198,244 8/1965 Mairson 160/348 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P Machado Assistant ExaminerPhilip C. Kannan Attorney-Nolte & Nolte [5 7] ABSTRACT A support for suspending a curtain including the supporting member has a curved portion in front and two cloth fixing means at the rear thereof. Each of said means is adapted to hold a double thickness of curtain cloth formed by making a fold in the curtain adjacent the means. The cloth between said fixing means extends over said portion, thereby obviating visibility of said curved portion.

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SHEET 3 OF 3 38 i UEL LZU FIG 11 FIG INVENTOR Gown 8. 3208K 1 SUPPORT FOR SUSPENDING A CURTAIN The invention relates to a support for suspending a curtain.

In suspending a curtain it is often desired for the curtain to hang infolds or box pleats for which purpose supports of the kind set forth are proposed in order to dispense with sewing folds in the curtains or with the application of special ribbon in which fold hooks can be attached.

A disadvantage of the known construction is that the means for fastening the curtain cloth to the supporting member are located at least partly in front of the curtain, so that they are visible. This is in general undesirable.

An object of the present invention is to obviate or mitigate this disadvantage.

According to the present invention there is provided a support for suspending a curtain including a supporting member having a front curved portion and two cloth fixing means at the rear thereof, each of said means being adapted to hold a double thickness of curtain cloth formed by making a fold in the curtain adjacent the means, the cloth between said fixing means extending over said curved portion.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a'curtain cloth having marks thereon apparently intended for use with a support as set forth in the preceding paragraph.

The present invention provides also an auxiliary member for fastening curtain cloth to a support as described in the paragraph before the preceding paragraph, formed by an elongated rod having at least one comparatively thin end.

' Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the'accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is apers'pective view of a support to which a suspension hook is fastened;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the support of FIG. I, the free ends of the supporting member being slightlybent outwardly, curtain cloth being fastened to one of these ends;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment of a support;

. FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of a support, in a perspective view;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a supporting member for a further support with its associated clamping member;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a support as shown in FIG. 5 with part of a curtain fastened thereto;

FIG. 7 illustrates a different disposition of the support" relative a suspension hook.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a further support;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the support of FIG. 8 with a curtain cloth fixed thereto;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the support of FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is an elevation as in FIG. it) taken in the direction of the arrow XI in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 shows a further support;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are a plan view and a side elevation respectively of an auxiliary tool for fastening a curtain to a support;

FIG. 15 shows a further embodiment of a support; and

FIG. 16 is a side elevation of a second embodiment of an auxiliary tool for fastening a curtain to a support;

In the support shown in FIG. 1 the supporting member is formed by a uniformly curved part 14 the ends I5 of which are bent over towards each other so that they are located in a flat plane. The ends 15 are each provided'with projecting tips 16 in line with said ends. A tip 17 protrudes from the center of the curved front side of the supporting member 14. The center line of the tip 17 is located in the plane of symmetry of the supporting member 14 and it will furthermore be seen from FIG. I that the inner side of the curved part is provided with an arm 18 which is located between the proximal ends of the tips 16 (FIG. 2) and with the aid of which a suspension hook 19 is connected to the supporting member.

Curtain cloth, for example lace curtains, may be fixed to the support by hooking the tips 16 in the cloth as is shown in FIG. 2. The support is preferably made of a slightly resilient material so that the ends 15 can be slightly bent outwardly for facilitating the fixation of the curtain as is illustrated in FIG. 2. It will be apparent that in this way a fold is obtained in the curtain. In fixing the curtain cloth the tip 17 is inserted into the cloth so that it forms an anchoring element, which prevents the cloth from moving relative to the supporting member. When a plurality of supporting members are fixed to the curtain cloth, it is advantageous to make marks at regular intervals in the curtain cloth, so that when the tips 17 are inserted into the cloth at the marks, a uniform distribution of the folds along the width of the curtain is automatically achieved. The hooks 19 may be hooked to runners coupled with a rail for suspending the curtain to the rail. The means for fixing the curtain cloth, formed by the tips 16, are located behind the cloth so that they are not visible when the curtains are suspended.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 corresponds at least substantially with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, however, the parts 15 do not extend in line with each other from their joints on the part 14, but they are bent over slightly further inwardly, the tips 16, however, are bent over outwardly so that hooking on of the curtain cloth is facilitated.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 also corresponds at least mainly with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Also in this case corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. From FIG. 4 it will be apparent that the parts 14 and 15 have elongated slots 21, which allows a saving of material and, moreover, a satisfactory resilient effect of the supporting member. The tips 16 are not in line with the parts 15, but they are applied to the outer side, which also facilitates hooking on of the curtain cloth.

The supporting members shown in'FIGS. I to 4 are formed by only one part and have a simple structure. They are preferably made of a resilient material, whilst the parts 15, to which the curtain cloth is hooked, can readily deflect resiliently so that undesirable damage due to counterforces exerted on the curtain can be largely avoided.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the holding member of the support is formed by a uniformly curved part 22, the ends of which are fastened with the aid of a straight part 23. The straight part 23 has three rectangular holes 24, 25 and 26 formed therein.

Around the hole 25 the part 23 is thicker than the remaining part. In order to fix the curtain cloth, the supporting member is adapted to co-operate with a clamping member 27. The clamping member comprises two arms 28 (FIG. 6), which are interconnected near one end with the aid of a toe of a suspension hook 29. The ends of the arms 28 remote from the suspension hook are provided with wedge-shaped thickened portions 30. Near the interconnected ends of the arms 28 arms 31 extend transversely of the arms 28 (FIG. 6), tips 32 being fixed to the ends of said arms parallel to the arms 28. It will furthermore be apparent from FIG. 6 that anchoring members formed by pins 33, are fastened in the plane of symmetry of the supporting member 22.

Curtain cloth 34 can be applied around the supporting member, as is shown in FIG. 6 in order to form a fold, the cloth being clamped tightly by means of the clamping member 27 against the supporting member. For this purpose the wedge-shaped thickened parts are slipped through the opening 25 for fixing the clamping member to the supporting member. The tips 32 are thus automatically inserted into the openings 24 and 26, piercing in this way the double folded curtain cloth ceding embodiments can be suspended with the aid of the-suspension hook to a runner or the like.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which the supporting member 35 is inclined downwardly from the suspension hook 36. This accounts for any tendency of the support to hang somewhat obliquely under the action of the weight of the support and of the curtain, so that the formation of false folds near the support in the curtain is avoided. From this Figure it will be furthermore seen that the supports described above may be arranged at any distance from the upper side of the lace curtain 34.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 the supporting member is formed by a uniformly curved strip 38, the ends 39 of which are bent over towards each other so that these ends are normally in line with each other. On the side of the curved part 38 facing the ends 39 a thickened part 40 with a dovetail recess open at one end is provided symmetrically to the plane of symmetry of the supporting member. The outer side of the supporting member 38 is provided in the plane of symmetry with a marking dash 41 forming a thickened part. On either side of the marking dash, at a given distance therefrom, anchoring members for the curtain cloth are provided in the form of tips or extensions 42 corresponding with the tips 17 of the embodiments initially described. The dovetail recess in the thickened part 40 receives in a detachable manner the T-shaped end 43 of an arm 44. The end of the arm 44 remote from the T-shaped end has fastened to it the central part of a substantially W-shaped transverse arm 45. From the Figures it will be seen that the lower points of the W- shaped arm are located in recesses provided in the ends 39.

A suspension hook 46 is fastened to the part of the arm 44 located near the W-shaped arm so as to extend upwardly from the arm 44, so that the suspension point proper of the suspension hook is located, in plan, inside the periphery of the supporting member. In this way the tendency of the support to hang down obliquely under the action of the weight of the support and the curtain is strongly counteracted since the point of suspension will lie substantially in the same plane as the center of gravity.

The supporting arm and/or the W-shaped arm are made of resilient material so that the ends 39 and the parts of the W-sh aped arm co-operating herewith can be moved from the position shown in FIG. 9 relatively to each other in relatively opposite directions for clamping curtain cloth 47 between the end 39 and the W-shaped member, as illustrated in the upper part of FIG. 9.

For inserting the curtain cloth between the end 39 and the W-shaped member 45 the member shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 can be used successfully. This member comprises a handle 48, to which a finger 49 is fixed. In order to avoid damage of the curtain cloth the finger preferably has an elliptifal cross section as is shown in FIG. 9. To insert the curtain cloth the finger 49 need only be urged from the position shown in FIG. 9 in the direction of the arrow A between the end 39 and the opposite end of the W-shaped arm, these two parts being thus automatically urged away from each other by the finger, whilst the curtain cloth is simultaneously slipped in between them. For loosening the curtain cloth it is only necessary to exert a force in the plane of the drawing in FIG. 9 on the curtain cloth.

Instead of using the loose connection between the supporting member and the arm 44 established by the parts 30 and 43, a fixed connection may be used as well so that the supporting member and the clamping member co-operating with the supporting member and formed by the arms 44 and 45 are integral with each other.

In the various embodiments described above an eyelet 50 may be employed instead of a hook, as is shown in FIG. 12. The embodiment shown in FIG. 12 corresponds otherwise with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 and corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 15, in which an open eyelet 51 is used, whilst the construction otherwise corresponds to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12. From FIG. 15 it will be seen that the loose end 52 at the opening is slightly bevelled and bent over outwardly to facilitate hooking on. Such a suspension member may be particularly suitable when rods are used for suspending the curtains and when the suspension member is also made of flexible material, the rod can be urged through the opening, whilst the diameter of the rod may be larger than the size of the passage in the unloaded state.

FIG. 16 shows a further auxiliary tool for suspending the curtains. The auxiliary tool shown is formed by two ribs 53 and 54 at right angles to each other, each rib extending on either side of the other one. Near the ends of the rod-shaped auxiliary tool the height of the ribs is smaller than at the center of the tool. This auxiliary tool may effectively be employed for coupling a member in a manner similar to that illustrated in FIG. 9. Owing to the angular shape of the inner end of the auxiliary member the latter may effectively be rolled between an end 39 and the arm 45, whilst taking along the curtain cloth with it so that at the area of the points 42 unwanted tractive force on the curtain cloth can be avoided. Both the auxiliary tool shown in FIGS. 13 and l4 and that shown in FIG. 16 may be used as a jig, in which case, for example, the thinner part of the auxiliary members may be used as a measure for the distance by which the curtain cloth has to project above the supporting member, whilst the overall length of the auxiliary tool may serve as a measure for the relative distances of the various supporting members. For this purpose the auxiliary member may be disposed between two projecting points on the facing sides of two adjacent supporting members.

It will be obvious that with the aid of the supporting members described in the foregoing and illustrated in the Figures a curtain cloth can be suspended in a simple manner so that it hangs down in folds without the need for special provisions on the curtain, whilst the means for fastening the curtain cloth are completely located behind the cloth so that no parts of the support disturb the appearance. Since, furthermore, the supports can readily be fastened and detached, they can be displaced readily if they have not been arranged at the correct place on a first instance.

As stated above the arrangement of the supports at the correct places is facilitated by the marks in the plane of symmetry of the supports said marks being formed by thickened parts or extensions. This is particportion being turned inwardly towards one another and defining recess means, a suspension and clamping element including means securing said element to said support 'member, said element including longitudinal clamping means extending along said opposite elongated ends and cooperating with said recess means to secure the material to said support member said means securing said element to a support member comprising a T-shaped configuration inserted into a corresponding groove in a back surface of said support member.

2. A support as-claimed in claim 1 in which said suspension and clamping element comprises a W-shaped strip, the two non-adjacent points of which engage in said recess means to secure the material to the support.

3. A support as claimed in claim 1 wherein said securing element includes a suspension element for holding said support upon a rail.

4. A support as claimed in claim 1, in which, with respect to a central vertical plane, the periphery of the curved portion is symmetrical and in which a mark is provided on the curved portion in the central plane.

5. A support for suspending a curtain comprising a supporting member, at least a peripheral part of which at the front thereof has a curved shape so that when curtain cloth is applied along the periphery a pleat is formed in the cloth, means being provided by which a double thickness of curtain cloth can be fastened to the rear of the supporting member, the position of the curtain cloth being such that the means for fastening the curtain cloth are completely located behind the two thicknesses of curtain cloth located on the rear side of the supporting member, said fastening means comprising a clamping member having an arm cooperating with the supporting member, the arm and the parts of the supporting member cooperating therewith being capable of deflecting resiliently relatively to each other for inserting curtain cloth between the clamping member and the supporting member, said arm being W-shaped, and connected with the supporting member by means of a connecting piece extending transversely of the W- shaped arm, the lower points of the W-shaped arm being located in recesses of the supporting member.

6. A support as claimed in claim 5 in which the connecting piece is detachably connected with the supporting member.

7. A support for drapes comprising a support member having a curved portion to be overlain by the material of the drapes, the opposite longitudinal ends of said portion being turned inwardly towards one another and defining a gap therebetween, longitudinally aligned recess means in said ends, and a clamping and suspending element having a first arm extending through said gap and affixed to said curved portion, and second and third arms extending longitudinally in opposite directions from said first arm to engage separate recess means for resiliently holding doubled material of said drapes at each of said recess means. 

1. A support for drapes comprising a support member having a curved portion to be overlain by the material of the drapes, the opposite longitudinal ends of said portion being turned inwardly towards one another and defining recess means, a suspension and clamping element including means securing said element to said support member, said element including longitudinal clamping means extending along said opposite elongated ends and cooperating with said recess means to secure the material to said support member said means securing said element to a support member comprising a T-shaped configuration inserted into a corresponding groove in a back surface of said support member.
 2. A support as claimed in claim 1 in which said suspension and clamping element comprises a W-shaped strip, the two non-adjacent points of which engage in said recess means to secure the material to the support.
 3. A support as claimed in claim 1 wherein said securing element includes a suspension element for holding said support upon a rail.
 4. A support as claimed in claim 1, in which, with respect to a central vertical plane, the periphery of the curved portion is symmetrical and in which a mark is provided on the curved portion in the central plane.
 5. A support for suspending a curtain comprising a supporting member, at least a peripheral part of which at the front thereof has a curved shape so that when curtain cloth is applied along the periphery a pleat is formed in the cloth, means being provided by which a double thickness of curtain cloth can be fastened to the rear of the supporting member, the position of the curtain cloth being such that the means for fastening the curtain cloth are completely located behind the two thicknesses of curtain cloth located on the rear side of the supporting member, said fastening means comprising a clamping member having an arm cooperating with the supporting member, the arm and the parts of the supporting member cooperating therewith being capable of deflecting resiliently relatively to each other for inserting curtain cloth between the clamping member and the supporting member, said arm being W-shaped, and connected with the supporting member by means of a connecting piece extending transversely of the W-shaped arm, the lower points of the W-shaped arm being located in recesses of the supporting member.
 6. A support as claimed in claim 5 in which the connecting piece is detachably connected with the supporting member.
 7. A support for drapes comprising a support member having a curved portion to be overlain by the material of the drapes, the opposite longitudinal ends of said portion being turned inwardly towards one another and defining a gap therebetween, longitudinally aligned recess means in said ends, and a clamping and suspending element having a first arm extending through said gap and affixed to said curved portion, and second and third arms extending longitudinally in opposite directions from said first arm to engage separate recess means for resiliently holding doubled material of said drapes at each of said recess means. 